About this artwork
Poussin painted Landscape with a Calm in 1650-51, in Rome, where he had lived and worked since 1624. He was about 56 years old and had been painting for over three decades, producing the classical landscapes and historical paintings that had made him the most respected French painter of the 17th century. Landscape with a Calm is one of his most beautiful late works, a view of an idealized Italian landscape that captures the stillness and the serenity of a calm day.
The painting shows a pastoral landscape with a lake, a castle, and a group of figures in the foreground. The lake fills the center of the canvas, its surface perfectly still, reflecting the sky and the trees. The castle stands on the far shore, its walls and towers described in precise, architectural detail. In the foreground, a horseman waters his horse at the edge of the lake, while a shepherd tends his flock on the hillside above. The sky is filled with soft, luminous clouds, and the light falls evenly across the landscape, illuminating every part of the scene with a warm, golden glow.
Poussin was the leading exponent of French Classicism, a style that combined the subject matter of classical antiquity with the compositional principles of Raphael and the Carracci. His landscapes are not descriptions of real places but idealized constructions, built on mathematical principles and designed to evoke the landscapes of the Roman campagna. Landscape with a Calm is one of his most carefully composed works, with every element placed with precision and the whole scene organized around the horizontal axis of the lake.
The painting was made in the 1650s, when Poussin was producing the series of idealized landscapes that are his most influential works. These paintings were collected by the Roman aristocracy and by French patrons who saw in them a model for the formal gardens and the classical architecture of the 17th century. The paintings would influence the French landscape tradition for the next two centuries, from Claude Lorrain to Camille Corot.
Oil on canvas, 97 by 131 centimeters. Poussin painted with a smooth, controlled touch, building the landscape in thin, even layers of color. The lake is painted in translucent strokes of blue and gray, with the reflections described in soft, horizontal strokes. The castle is painted in precise, architectural strokes of gray and brown, with the walls and towers described with the accuracy of a draftsman. The trees are painted in layers of green and brown, with the foliage built in small, regular strokes. The figures are painted in tiny, precise strokes of color, providing a sense of scale. The sky is painted in soft, luminous layers of blue and white, with the clouds built in thick, opaque strokes. The surface has the smooth, polished quality of a painting made with great care.
The horizontal format and warm palette make this print work well in a living room, dining room, or office. The warm greens, blues, and golden tones pair with natural wood, white walls, and rooms with a traditional or classical mood. The 18x24 size is the best choice, as the composition needs width to read. The painting has a serene, contemplative quality that suits rooms with a calm or refined mood.
This is a public domain artwork from the J. Paul Getty Museum. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 18x24 inches, framed or unframed.
